Does anyone know how Carol’s and a few cadets’ jolly to Dallas to see the F35 production line is being paid for?
If it’s coming out of RAFAC funds I dare say there are better things that money could be spent on.
The whole thing has been paid for by Lockheed Martin, zero public funds involved.
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Paid by L-M after CV lobbied them for it, too. Worth remembering that part.
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The cost is almost irrelevant…
How were cadets selected to go on this once in a lifetime trip?
As an OC I never saw an email asking for candidates.
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Dacre Sword, ATC75 Sword, Top CCF Cadet.
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Then well deserved!!
Where is that info from?
Was it published on SharePoint or via CoC?
Will it be a regular annual treat or just a one off.
Maybe those 3 recipients are deemed the best of the best by the criteria of those respective awards. But are they the best cadets served to go on an aviation specific trip.
One of them might be fieldcraft focused for example…
Really I am just annoyed that no process or selection was felt necessary.
That info is from me knowing that it’s the case.
There is an extensive process to choose the winners of the Swords each year, therefore this being a reward for those winners is an entirely fair process, to recognise the top 3 cadets, and the top staff member.
Plenty of opportunities for IACE and overseas trips in the ATC, if you have suitable cadets - suggest you wait out on this years IACE opportunities, and put them forward.
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So no due process specific to this reward then, thanks for confirming.
Also… IACE does not equal, a freebie paid for jolly to Dallas.
If Dacre sword etc etc is going to come with additional prizes it should be promulgated.
I think your attitude is indicative of everything wrong with an entitled modern society.
Parents storming into schools to demand why their child didn’t get picked for a sports team. Parents storming into Squadrons demanding to know why their child didn’t get promoted to Corporal. Complaints of unfairness in the process put in when someone doesn’t get a job.
The 3 best cadets in the whole of the RAFAC got a prize for being the best (as cadets do every year win those swords for the record, it’s unwritten in policy but do feel free to check with some previous winners about that), and you’re having a little paddy - with a view to what exactly? Stomping your feet around to achieve a revolution in the way things are done? Grow up.
Well deserved reward to some truly excellent RAFAC personnel, and something for everyone to aspire to.
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You have completely mis-understood.
But thats ok.
However please do not assume to know me or my motivations for raising my question.
Essentially. When ‘blue’ flying and related opportunities are increasing few and far between, it should be mandated policy to distribute by selection across the Corps.
Winners of the Dacre sword etc etc are clearly excellent cadets and the best in their year. BUT they get the associated rewards according to those ACTOs.
This is a slippery slope. Without caution these high level awards could end up being a gateway to rewarding whatever HQAC like to the winners, taking opportunities from others.
Or think of it another way…
The corps had 6 rewards.
1 Dacre sword
1 ATC sword
1 CCF sword
3 trips to Dallas.
Instead of giving it out to 6 cadets only 3 benefited.
In this day and age, better more have less than a few have all.
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You are entitled to whatever opinion you want - I don’t care to know you or your motivations - your reaction to this tells me everything I would want to know.
The trip to Dallas is a one time only deal with a tight time frame - the RAFAC personnel were chosen as a reward for excellence, end of.
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Completely disagree with all your points, as I’m sure most rational CFAVs will.
This was distributed by selection, that process was the dacre sword (etc) process, and involved multiple rounds of interviews. Dacre has come with additional prizes previously, but it’s not guaranteed because of the amount of behind the scenes work that goes into it.
These were rewards lobbied for especially for these winners. They thoroughly deserve it.
Maybe focus on getting your cadets through the Dacre process so they benefit from future opportunities, rather than bemoaning what these cadets have earned.
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Brilliant, thanks for the response!
All for it in that case.
Mods feel free to lock.
Where you’re having trouble here is that Dallas is not / was not an ‘award’ or a planned continual process like IACE etc.
As mentioned above it is a publicity opportunity that co-incides with several factors all coming together and arriving at an opportunity for some people to take part in this publicity opportunity.
So now comes the who? Who do we want to put out there to that represent the best of the organisation…if only there was some clearly established, time honoured way of saying ‘who’s the best this year’.
Oh wait 
… there is exactly those things so why there’s any bitterness about the organisation being asked to put their best forward and then putting their best forward.
It’s not sports day, randomly picking ‘mates’ first and other kids second… it’s just straight line logic
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…because the process did not benefit this person or his/her cadets.
Had a cadet from his/her squadron been picked, I doubt he/she would have said “actually my cadet has won the Dacre Sword/ATC75 sword this year, please send someone else on this trip because I feel strongly that opportunities should be shared out”
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You’re all wrong on the motivation for my query.
Massively wrong it’s actually crass.
At an even more simple level…
If on a Sqn like most Sqns you have a best cadet trophy which lets say is given to a cadet who let’s say recieved it for sports achievements that year but has no blues interests.
Then you get offered as a Sqn a place on a hawk flight for 1 cadets. Who do you give it to?
Option 1. The best cadet even though it may be wasted on them.
Option 2.openly close a cadet who it would benefit most.
I am not saying the three winners of Dacre etc aren’t the best cadets that year in the Corps.
I’m not even saying that they aren’t the most deserving on this occasion.
I’m not saying I have ANY issues with the trip.
I AM saying that it can’t be assumed that these three would benefit the most from the trip and PERHAPS others might have benefited more?
BUT there being no obvious process followed EXCEPT by tagging this on to DACRE etc etc it can’t be assumed that the most deserving recieved this.
FURTHERMORE I appreciate time may have been short to select winners. It is simply a matter of my opinion that we shouldnt be putting all our high value gizzets into a few cadets.
Incidently this has nothing do to with the cadets at my unit, and as lovely as I am sure CV is this sort of trip interests me not.
having heard about this event in July having CAC let slip in a private meeting the timings for the event were tight.
with the above mentioned winners already lined up as “worthy” for something special why start a (long) process for selection when Cadets matching the criteria (deserving of something different, old enough, ambassadors for the organisation) were already known about.
why go through the process of promoting the event, selection interviews at various levels, all in a timely manner to suit the trip > what would that gain when a very similar, if not identical process had just produced these three candidates??
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Regardless of your motivation, your thoughts on this are wrong.
Let us for a second consider the prize; an all expenses paid trip to Texas, to view the F35 in production, an air show, and crucially the whole thing be filmed for television. I would suggest this price would be suitable for 99.99% of our cadets, so regards of you feeling that it wouldn’t be, it is. It’s an excellent prize, that would be of enjoyment for pretty much anyone, and given we are an aviation related organisation,. you could assume that most of our cadets would relish the chance to go.
Let’s use your scenario:
Squadron presentation night - Congratulations to Cadet A, you are the Cadet of the Year, you are the best we have, have shown excellence in all areas, and are a credit to the unit - here, have a certificate and this old trophy which you can keep for the year.
Congratulations to Cadet B, you have won a flight in a Hawk fast jet - this coveted prize which literally any of you cadets would have wanted to go on, has been awarded to Cadet B, because Cadet B enjoys flying the most.
Cadet A, you seem upset, I can’t understand why, you are cadet of the year! Check out that certificate! What’s that? You wonder why you’re the best but got no prize? That’s an aviation prize silly! You’re an all rounder - I can see your confusion though.
Let’s multiply that process up, the Sword winners have interviews at Wing, then Region, then Corps, demonstrate excellence in a huge range of areas, many hold QAIC, Flying Scholarships etc. The prize for being the best? A certificate, and holding the sword for a picture.
Now, lets pretend we are HQAC shall we, so we have a free trip to Texas to send 3 cadets and a staff member on, needs to be excellent cadets who will really show case the best we have for the purpose of publicity etc, hmmmmm, well there is the Dacre Sword, ATC 75 Sword, Ganderton Sword etc…hmmmmm, no, lets start a lengthy process to identify some worthy cadets, ask Wing’s to nominate 1 cadet each, Region must then short list the Wing’s candidates to 1 candidate per Region, who must then attend an interview day at Corps to narrow this by 50% again. Staff member wise - let’s throw it open to all the staff in the Corps, and have a similar process to identify who’s who.
Regardless of your opinion, regardless of whoever you have on your Squadron that you feel deserves this more, the right decision was made - which was to award this trip to THE BEST possible people in the organisation. Because I doubt any process put in place to select cadets for the trip would differ from the process used to select cadets for the Swords anyway, so why bother doing it all again.
This trip would have suited anyone - therefore why not recognise excellence?
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